Whats the fuss over GM food???

What is the fuss over gm food?? The above cartoon shows overgrown, mutated veggies attacking cities, and its occupants, but is that what gm food really means?? 

Scientists have been tinkering with the DNA of commercial food for nearly two decades, and they’ve covered most of the food pyramid. Modern soybeans, cotton, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, rice, and sugarcane have all had their genomes tweaked to serve the human species. Most of the genetically modified (GM) food in the world sprouts on American soil, but the practice is growing in Argentina, Canada, Brazil, and China, to name just a few. 

 Naturally plants have been improved by breeding them with other, better plants - a natural process which takes years, but with GM foods, it's done quickly and artificially, and this is poses a problem for most people. 



But are they Bad?

Well, most of us have and are ingesting genetically modified food, it is the norm in today's world.  The problem is that most people feel that the lack of labelling on gm food takes the consumer's choice away, not knowing what you are putting in your body.  

In addition the fact that the food is  said to be genetically engineered confuses the consumers, you ask yourself, "was this amazingly delicious apple designed in a lab, or is it naturally yummy??

An example of a product that is usually genetically modified is tomatoes.  Tomatoes are used in a lot of foods, but they rot quickly and don't always taste nice. So GM tomatoes have been created which last longer, look redder and taste better.


 
Below are the known pros and cons of GM food:

Pros

• Crops
  • Enhanced taste and quality
  • Reduced maturation time
  • Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
  • Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
  • New products and growing techniques
• Animals
  • Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
  • Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
  • Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
• Environment
  • "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
  • Conservation of soil, water, and energy
  • Bioprocessing for forestry products
  • Better natural waste management
  • More efficient processing
• Society
  • Increased food security for growing populations

Cons of GM Food

• Safety
  • Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
  • Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
• Access and Intellectual Property
  • Domination of world food production by a few companies
  • Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
  • Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources
• Ethics
  • Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
  • Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
  • Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
  • Stress for animal
• Labeling
  • Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
  • Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts
• Society
  • New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

The key is to be informed and make informed decisions, know what you eat, be it GM of organic.

Why I stopped eating meat?

Well it's been a year and a couple of months since I stopped eating meat.  Now coming from a family of meateaters my decision has really been frowned upon by everyone, sometimes i even think my dead greatparents are also shaking their heads in disbelief! I stopped eating meat, because we live in a time where life is engineered and mass produced.  So in protest to having designer meat for dinner, i just stopped.  I believe that every time i bought those specially made breasts, thighs, bacon bits I was voting, voting that it is fine that like in a handbag factory , so was my meat made that way.  But then you ask, ok fine, but what about eating free range? 

Now I always tell people, often my mother, who asks me everythime I see her why I stopped eating meat, that a switch just flipped.  My grandmother used to have her own chickens on the farm, she even named them, it was cute. 















Once a year,  when all the kids and grandkids where there, she would slaughter a chicken for us.  She would be in a bad mood for days, mourning her lovely Sophie the chicken, but that is it!  Because my grandmother understood that Sophie the chicken is life, she treated and respected it as such.  Our society has lost respect for life, and the life of animals is most times not given a second thought! I mean look at Rhino poaching!

So, yes that is why i stopped eating meat, and will do so only when I can kill the animal myself, be it a cow, chicken, or any other edible animal, and I will raise my son to do the same.  It's all about respect.

San hunters of the Kalahari

Am I a hippie??

When most people  hear the word Hippie, they immediately think, long haired-noshower-aintpayingtaxes-freelove type of person.  The thing is, since the way people live has changed, alomost going back to how things used to be, so has the term hippie.




 I was just recently called a hippie, a name that i thought i was immune to, i mean I studied engineering (in my perception most hippies would consider me such a square), like science fiction everything, and live in those surburban-y guarded estates, but because I recycle, have a garden patch, stopped eating meat, make my own gifts, buy organic, and go to markets all of a sudden i am a hippie! But am I though?  One thing I have noticed though is that being a "hippie" has certainly changed from back then.  I mean these days with the price of organic food and clothing, and things such as recycling, and driving eco friendly cars, one has to have money to be a hippie, well a hippie by today's standards anyways.  So it's not a free for all, it's like an exclusive club, ha- I bet when the beatniks would pull their hair in protest of this new type of "hippie"!